Theresa Julia Zielinski
Department of Chemistry, Medical Technology, and Physics, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ 07764-1898

George M. Shalhoub
Department of Chemistry, La Salle University, Philadelphia, PA 19141

Abstract
	The goal of this document is to provide students with an introduction to Franck-Condon Factors and the relationship of these factors to vibronic spectroscopy. The document contains a very brief introduction to Franck-Condon factors through a sequence of guided inquiry type exercises. Specifically, students are asked to use potential energy diagrams for a diatomic molecule to examine a transition in the diatomic molecule from a ground electronic state to an excited electronic state including consideration of the vibrational levels of each state. The overlap of vibrational wave functions is used to introduce Franck-Condon factors. All of the exercises in this document are done with pencil and paper as preparation for more detailed work to be done in the companion computational document The Franck-Condon Factors.
Mathcad document (fully interactive with Mathcad)
	FranckCondonBackground.mcd
PDF version (non-interactive)
	FranckCondonBackground.pdf
Commentary
	Editor's Commentary
Keywords
	Physical Chemistry, UV-Vis Spectroscopy, Quantum Chemistry, Laboratory Computing
JCE Citation
	Zielinski, T. J.; Shalhoub, G. M. J. Chem. Educ. 1998 75 1191.